All Saints Day
October 28, 2008
Halloween is coming up this Friday. Although I don’t dress up for it anymore, I enjoy handing out candy on Halloween. I like seeing the costumes people wear, especially the little ones dressed up as a princess or Thomas the Tank Engine. Inevitably there will always be a fair share of skeletons and other death-like costumes too. Although I prefer the cute costumes, death is part of the Halloween experience.
The day after Halloween, November 1, holds little significance for us in the United States, but in Mexico this is when the festivities begin. November 1 is known as the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) which has roots in the Christian observation of All Saints Day. It is a long standing tradition in Mexico to celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. On November 1 deceased children are remembered. On November 2 deceased adults are remembered. These two days of remembrance look more like a festival than a somber memorial. Although traditions across the country vary, the Day of Dead festivities include the coming together of family and friends with food, flowers and firecrackers. Some build an altar for the deceased in their home, while others set up camp at their loved one’s gravesite. The Day of the Dead is a time of honoring and communing with those that have gone before us. This might sound like strange tradition to us that have been raised in the United States where death is a largely avoided topic. In Mexico and various other countries around the globe remembering one’s ancestors and loved ones with candles, food and drink is a tradition that can be traced as far back as the glory days of ancient Egypt, when departed souls were honored during the great festival of Osiris.
Today many churches in the U.S. celebrate All Saints Day. The celebration is not as popular as it is in Mexico, nor as festive. For Christians, All Saints is celebration of cosmic proportions that recognizes God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has claimed final victory over our lives. It celebrates those that have gone before us and already experience eternal life with God, but it also recognizes our participation in the fullness of God, both the foretaste now and its fullness to come. In this way All Saints celebrates the bond the church on earth has with the church triumphant in God’s love.
The early church celebration of All Saints focused primarily on church martyrs. They considered the day of their death their "birthday" into Christ’s eternal realm. Although many churches continue to focus All Saints on those that have gone before us. Today, the definition of a saint is opening up and is defined as Christians in every time and place, living and dead.
This week in chapel we will be celebrating All Saints Day. We will be remembering those that have gone before us who have been role models in the faith. We will also be honoring those still with us who continue to demonstrate Godly living and in doing so make us stronger Christians because of it.
As you go about your week preparing for Halloween and trick-or treaters, do not let November 1 pass you by. Regard it as a day of celebration and honor for all the saints that you have known.
Prayer: Eternal Father, thank you for putting people in my life that have encouraged my faith and taught me to live in a more excellent way that is pleasing to you. By their example, may I also be a role model of faith for others. Amen.
